Monthly Archives: June 2009

This past Saturday, June 20, 2009, the Bradley High School Class of 1969 came together for a class reunion on the 40th anniversary of their graduation. Below is a photo of those present, with the exception of one person who arrived after the photo was taken.

The Class of 1969 also paid tribute to the five deceased members of their class with a memory board of photographs. Those class members are Fred G. Berry, Jr. (1949–1992), Billy D. “Butch” Bland, Jr. (1951–2002), Fred H. Dreher III (1951–2008), Gary Dale Pickett (1951–1991) and Rose Hinds Thompson (1950–1996).

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It’s probably trite to say that a good time was had by all, but the class members seemed to me to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.

On a personal note, I very much enjoyed visiting with Coach Leo Johnson, who is a veritable walking encyclopedia of happenings in the Bradley schools from the mid-1950’s to the late 1960’s. Two bits of trivia from our conversation:

Coach Johnson’s paddle/strap was well known throughout the student body, both by students who had felt its sting and those who did not. Coach Johnson told me that any “paddle-able” offense, no matter how heinous, always drew a set number of “licks” (8).

Some of us remember watching Coach Johnson during games and thinking he was quite intense. In 17 years of coaching basketball (not all at Bradley), how many technical fouls did he get called for? (Answer: 3).

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Summer is class reunion time and if any other classes which are reuniting will furnish a photo(s), or a short article on their affair, I’ll be glad to post them.